Happy Endings
by Authoress of Evil
Summary: A teenage girl's mother tells her the not-so-happy ending of her favorite childhood fairytale about the Xiaolin dragons. Rated for character death. One OC. Raikim


Title: Happy Endings  
Words: 2,406  
Song: My Immortal - Evanescence  
Summary: A girl hears the not-so-happy addition to her favorite childhood fairytale.  
A/N: I am an idiot. When I should have been working on homework, working on Le Morte de Raimundo, or going to bed (it was 11:30 at night), I instead turned on my MP3. First song comes up, and it's My Immortal. Insert idea for really sad story here. I thought it would be like, really short. Try seven pages long. Yep. So, here it is! It's even edited, slightly. And if you know Raimundo's real birthday, it'd come in handy. There's an alternate ending too, so if you want it, just ask and I'll add another chapter to this with the ending. It's much happier than this one's. I put a little author's note where the other ending starts.

* * *

Our story begins a gloomy, rainy Saturday morning. A girl and her mother were at home, watching television when the daughter remembered something.

"Mom," the teenage girl said, "Can you tell me the rest of that story?"

The older woman raised her eyebrow. "What story?"

"You know, the one you used to tell me when I was little. You said it had a happy ending, but several sad events leading up to it. Can you tell me it?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She sighed, "Okay then, Mei. I'll tell you. Where to start, where to start… I guess the beginning is as good as anywhere."

…

_Once upon a time, there were four close friends. They were also Xiaolin dragons in training. There was Clay Bailey, Dragon of Earth; Omi, Dragon of Water; Kimiko Tohomiko, Dragon of Fire; and Raimundo Pedrosa, Dragon of Wind._

_Clay was a kind hearted cowboy from the United States. He never had a bad word to say about anyone, except for the idiotic crook, Jack Spicer, or anyone who stole his food. _

_Omi was an orphan who was taken to the Xiaolin Temple at some point in his early childhood. He grew up there, and viewed Master Fung as a father, just as Fung viewed him as a son. Omi was impeccably short, but his heart more than made up for it. His head was also enormous, figuratively _and _literally. He always tried so hard to do his best, but he sometimes got a little conceited when someone other than himself excelled. Either way, he was a good friend and a great warrior._

_Kimiko was your typical teenage girl. Shopping, texting, chatting, and her PDA were her prime objectives in life. Eventually she grew out of this fad, but she was _always _technology based._

_Then, there was Raimundo. Raimundo was a cocky little jerk who never ceased with his pranks and sarcastic remarks. Still, he was a kind person, a wonderful friend, and the greatest leader Xiaolin's side had seen since Grand Master Dashi._

_But, he had a secret weakness, a secret love. Raimundo Pedrosa, leader of the Xiaolin dragons in training, had a crush. On Kimiko._

_He would do anything for her, and, though he didn't realize it at first, she'd do anything for him._

_Then, after a battle whose details you know quite well, they did realize it. They fell in love, and they stayed in love for years._

…

"So what happened?" Mei asked. "I've heard this story a million times. The battle in which Kimiko gets hurt and Raimundo runs over, terrified, afraid that she might have died. Then, it turns out she was fine, but was just faking to get Chase's guard down so she can attack him, and they admit to each other their feelings. But that sounds like the ending you always used to tell me. What happens next?"

"Cool your jets," the older woman said. "Let me finish. Now, where was I?"

…

_When they were adults, the team seemingly defeated Chase Young, Hannibal Bean, Wuya, and Jack Spicer. They separated, going off to live their lives._

_Three years after the defeat of evil, when they were 25, Raimundo and Kimiko became engaged. The wedding was going to be beautiful. Clay and Omi were both best men, and Kimiko's best friend from Japan was her bridesmaid. Everything was perfect._

_Then it all fell apart._

_Just after the priest said, "You may kiss the bride," an explosion blew the roof right off the building. There, Chase Young, who apparently had survived the final battle, jumped down and attacked with his vicious jungle cats._

_The battle was horrible and gruesome, but it looked as if the Xiaolin side was winning. In a final act of desperation, Chase ran at the bride, ready to supply a lethal attack._

_Kimiko didn't see it coming until the last second, but when she heard a cry of pain, she realized it was far too late to move out of the way. After all, Chase had already hit the target he was really aiming at._

_The Dragon of the Wind dropped like a stone, falling into a puddle of blood that was his own._

…

"WAIT!" Mei yelled. "What do you mean, _lethal? _And a puddle of his own blood? WHAT? He can't be dead! Can he?" she asked, fear dripping into her voice.

Her mother wasn't looking at her. She was more lost in the story than her daughter. "No, he wasn't dead. Not yet."

…

"_NO! RAI!" Kimiko shouted, screaming, "TANGLEWEB COMB!" and leaving Chase to their friends. She ran to her new husband, who was battered, bruised, and bloody. He was hardly conscious, and even that was slipping._

"_Rai, Rai! No, stay with me. Stay with me!" she cried._

"_Kimiko," he breathed._

"_Yeah?" she asked tearfully._

"_I never got to kiss the bride."_

_So, she kissed him. She kissed him fiercely, and he kissed her back with all his strength._

"_Kim," he murmured when they finally broke apart._

"_Yeah," she asked._

"_I love you." His words were drenched in emotion, but she could sense a shade of regret. An undertone of pain. _

"_I love you too," she replied, a curious look on her face._

_Unfortunately, he knew something she didn't. "Kim," he said, coughing slightly. "I'm not going to make it."_

"_No," she gasped, suddenly grabbing him and cradling him in her arms. "No, don't think like that. You are going to be fine."_

_He looked down at the red on the floor. "I'm losing too much blood. And… well…" he trailed off as she looked at him better. As she took in the bloody hole in his chest where Chase's sword had connected with him._

…

"WHAT?!?" Mei screamed. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? _THAT _WAS THE LETHAL ATTACK! HE GOT STABBED!"

Her mother paid her no attention and went on with the story.

…

_He smiled his signature cocky smile as he saw realization flash across his bride's face, but it was streaked with sadness._

"_No. NO! This can't be happening. This just can't be happening!"_

…

"I agree with Kimiko. This CAN'T be happening!" Mei screamed.

The older woman looked at her curiously.

"What?" Mei asked. "He's cool. Sounds like the kind of person I'd be friends with."

"Yeah, you would've gotten along well. Almost like family," she added to herself, chuckling softly.

…

_Omi and Clay finished Chase with a combination of their dragon powers. Nursing dreadful wounds, he ran off, taking his army of wildcats with him. After all, he'd already accomplished his goal. He made his return something to remember._

_All the guests had evacuated, including Kimiko's father. The only people who remained were Master Fung, Dojo, and Jermaine. Master Fung was staring at the grief stricken couple with an anguished expression on his face. He regarded Raimundo, as well as the others, as his own children. He had known full well that one of them would most likely pass before their golden years. _

_It was simple statistics. Out of the three most historical Xiaolin warriors, one had died of old age, one had achieved immortality, and the other had destroyed his own soul for his powers and immortality. Chase Young had been tricked into turning Heylin and was as good as dead. But he was a ghost now, and could wreak havoc in the real world, as he had just done to their lives._

_Raimundo's breath had started to speed up, and it was becoming raspier and raspier. "Kim," he whispered._

"_Yeah, Rai?" she asked tearfully._

"_Don't go after Chase," he said simply. "Not alone. Please."_

"_I won't," she assured, but deep in her heart, she knew that she was guaranteed to._

_He knew it too, because he urged. "No, please. You can't Kim. You have to promise to me that you won't. Don't die too."_

"_You aren't going to die!" she insisted. "I – I've got to do something! I just – I have to! I can't let you die! This can't happen!"_

_He shook his head simply. "Just promise me you won't go after him."_

"_NEVER! I won't let him get away with this!" From the way that she said it, Rai knew she wouldn't budge._

"_Fine, but don't go it alone. You have friends. Remember that."_

"_Alright! But you are one of them, and I REFUSE TO LET YOU DIE!" she screamed._

_He couldn't help it, he laughed. Somehow, he had a feeling he wouldn't be doing it again._

"_What is it?" she asked._

"_It's just, you always win the argument. Whether it's what color should we paint the living room, what should we watch on TV, or what color flowers should you hold, you always get your way. I just find it kind of amusing that the one you lose will be the one I didn't want to win."_

"_No."_

"_I love you, Kim," he whispered. And just like that, he was gone. His eyes didn't shut, but it was like he was just a puppet with his strings cut._

…

"You mean he actually died?" Mei asked in shock. "You can't be serious."

(A/N: After this, there is an alternate ending that is very different from the ending given. If you want it, I'll post it as a second chapter. Just ask in a review or PM.)

The older woman didn't even hear her daughter speak; she was so lost in the story. If Mei had looked closer, she would have seen a tear fall down her mother's cheek.

…

"_Rai?" she asked. He didn't respond. "Rai? RAI! Wake up, Rai! Please, Rai, I need you. Wake up!"_

"_Master Fung, there has to be something I can do! I can't let him die! I can't!" she screamed, holding her husband's body close._

_But Master Fung shook his head, he couldn't do anything. He was powerless to stop what had happened._

_Just then, Omi and Clay walked over laughingly, oblivious to the tragedy that had just occurred. "Hey, guys! You shoulda seen that no good varmint as we chased him off. Ha!"_

"_Yes, we certainly kicked his donkey!" Omi exclaimed. Clay waited for Rai to correct him, but no sly comment came. That's when they noticed Kimiko… and then Rai…_

"_Oh my gosh!" Omi exclaimed. "What has happened?"_

"_Is he…?" Clay asked, trailing off as a sobbing Kimiko nodded her head._

"_Is he what?" Omi asked. "What happened!? Why is he not blinking?! I am most confused!"_

"_Omi, he's gone," Master Fung said. "Raimundo has left us."_

_Omi shook his head. "No, can you not see him? He is right there in front of us!"_

…

"Oh, poor Omi," Mei whispered under her breath. Her mother smiled sadly at the young monk's ignorance and denial. Omi had known perfectly well what Master Fung had meant that time. He just really hoped he had misinterpreted it.

"Yeah," she said. "Poor Omi."

…

"_Feller, I don't think you get it. Rai – Rai's dead, Omi," Clay elaborated miserably to his younger friend._

_Omi gasped. "W-w-what?" he asked, trembling. "You don't mean dead as in… dead? Do you?"_

_When no one replied, Omi took a step back, eyes glued on his friend's face as Clay kneeled down and closed his eyes. He shook his head, once, twice, three times and ran out of the building as tears started to cascade out of his eyes._

_Master Fung went after him, but Clay stayed with Kimiko who was still holding Rai's body close, refusing to let him go._

"_You gonna be alright, Kimiko?" he asked._

_She said nothing for a moment, struggling to figure out what to say. She said the only thing she could think of, "It was our wedding day."_

_Clay nodded, understanding what she meant by it. "That's mighty unfair to the both of ya. But you can't stay here, you know. We have to leave this place pretty soon. I'll carry Rai, unless you'd rather I didn't," he offered._

_She nodded, knowing it was best. Slowly, she set the Dragon of the Wind down on the cold, rubble filled floor, and went to get up. She saw Clay bend down and lift her husband up and swing him over his shoulder. But then, the room darkened. She heard someone call her name, but then everything went black._

…

"What happened?" Mei asked with fright. "Did Chase come up behind her and like, stab her or something awful like that?"

Her mother shook her head. "You aren't even close, but that was very creative. Just wait."

…

_She woke up in the temple. She was in her bed, and her friends were crowded around her. She remembered everything that had happened the past few days, but she hoped it was just a nightmare._

"_Did that really just - ?" she asked, and they nodded solemnly._

"_And Rai…?" she queried fearfully. They nodded again._

"_What happened to me?" she asked finally. Master Fung walked over, an odd look on his face._

"_Well, Kimiko, you fainted. After further tests we discovered something."_

"_What?" she asked._

_Omi jumped up, grinning. "You're pregnant!"_

…

"The end," he mother finished.

Mei raised her eyebrow. "Wait, so her husband died, but she still had his kid?" she asked. Her mother nodded.

"That's really weird," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, not only do they have the same names as you, Uncle Omi, Uncle Clay, and Master Fung, but Raimundo was Dad's name, and he died before _I _was born."

Kimiko smiled as her daughter's jaw dropped. "You don't mean…"

"There may be one detail I left out of the story. _Kimiko and Raimundo's daughter was born the same day as her father, May 8__th__. After long consideration, she decided to call her just that, Mei."_

"No…"

"Mei, _you_ were the happy ending."

…


End file.
